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These muffins are full of veggies and great with soup. The cornmeal adds a nice yellow color and a subtle crunch. Another great recipe adapted from The City Gardener’s Cookbook!

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup oil
• 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup seeded and finely diced tomato
• 1/2 cup grated zucchini
• 1/2 cup grated carrot
• 1/4 cup minced onion

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 °F.

In a large bowl mix together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt. In a second bowl mix together the egg, milk, butter and oil. Stir this into the dry ingredients just until mixed. Add the tomatoes, zucchini, carrot and onion and fold in until veggies are dispersed throughout the batter. Fill greased muffin tins 3/4 full with batter.

Bake muffins 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown.

Yield: 12 muffins

Arepas are a popular breakfast dish in Venezuela and Colombia. They are corn cakes made of precooked cornmeal (I like the white variety). I was introduced to arepas by a friend in college. Her father was from Colombia and her mother would frequently make arepas (and wonderful empanadas). We would eat them with carne mechada (shredded beef) and black beans for dinner. Ed grew up eating arepas with cheese, carne and a side of black beans for breakfast - aka Pabellón Criollo, the traditional Venezuelan breakfast. So obviously they are very versatile and good at any time of the day. Ed says that in Venezuelan people basically treat them as bread making all kinds of sandwiches with arepas - ham & cheese, black beans & onions, shredded pork, etc. So, I present to you our breakfast this morning, Arepas con queso. We used a fresh Latin cheese called Guayanés, however, any fresh white cheese (e.g. Farmer’s cheese) will work. I also like them with cheddar & feta but don’t tell Ed - it is heresy!

Ingredients

• 2 cups masa de arepa (masarepa)
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• fresh white cheese

Directions

Place the masa in a bowl and mix in the salt. Add the water and stir with your hands until the water is absorbed. Let sit for 5-10 minutes then knead for a few minutes until the dough is smooth.

Shape into 2″ to 5″ patties (just depends on how big you’d like your arepas) that are about 1/2-inch thick. Cook in a cast iron skillet on medium-low heat until outsides are crisp and the inside is cooked. This will take 10+ minutes.

Serve while hot. Cut each arepa in half and fill with white cheese (or carne, or black beans, or ham, etc.).

Yield: 4 servings

Notes

You can also crumble the cheese into the dough (about 1/2 cup) so it melts while you cook the arepas. These are great filled with beef or beans.

These are my favorite waffles, period. They also happen to be vegan! You might have to cook them longer than other waffles you are used to.. When done they are crisp on the outside and chewy and moist on the inside.

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar (brown sugar preferred)
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 Tablespoons soy yogurt
• 2 cups soymilk
• 15 oz pureed pumpkin, fresh or canned
• 1/3 cup oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions

Sift together dry ingredients. In a different bowl, whisk wet ingredients until well mixed. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and combine with a few strokes until there are not many dry pockets. Pour enough batter into waffle maker to make a nice size waffle and follow your manufacturer’s instructions.

Yield: 6 servings

These are the perfect before dinner snack - especially with a glass of wine. I ate these with some unfiltered apple juice (because wine & painkillers don’t mix). The apple juice was a great counterpoint to these salty, cheesy toasts and needed as these were very rich. If you’re planning on serving these with wine I’d recommend topping each toast with a few thin slices of apple to add the fruity flavor they need.

Ingredients

• 1/2 Tablespoon butter, softened
• 2 Tablespoons blue cheese
• 4 pecans, chopped fine
• 2 slices bread

Directions

Preheat the broiler. Mix together the softened butter, blue cheese and chopped pecans. Spread half of mixture on each slice of bread. Toast under broiler until bubbly and warm.

Servings: 1

Try this at your next barbeque - people will be amazed when you put dough directly on the grate and it doesn’t stick. Plus, they’ll be eating gourmet pizza that tastes like it was cooked in a wood-burning oven.

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup warm water
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• salt
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• olive oil

Toppings

• ½ cup tomato sauce
• ¼ cup diced kalamata olives
• 1 plum tomato - thinly sliced
• 16 whole basil leaves
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Make the sponge. In a bowl, whisk together ½ cup of the all-purpose flour, water, yeast, and a pinch of salt. Cover with a clean cloth and set aside to rise for 20 to 30 minutes.

Make the crust. Stir in the remaining 1 cup all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and ¾ teaspoon salt. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and knead for 10 to 15 minutes, until you have a smooth, elastic, and slightly sticky dough. Wash and dry the mixing bowl and smear it with oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with a clean damp towel and set it aside until it doubles in volume, 1 to 2 hours.

Divide and rest. Punch down the dough to deflate it and cut into four equal portions. Form each portion into a ball and let sit, covered with a damp towel, for 5 minutes.

Start grilling. Form each ball into a 5-inch disk by pulling, tugging, or rolling out the dough. Place on a preheated medium grill and put the top down. Let cook for ~ 4 minutes until the underside is cooked. Flip the disks over and cover with toppings. Be sure to take it easy on the sauce and cheese or else they’ll slide right off. Grill another 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Notes

After dough has risen, you may refrigerate it in a tightly sealed plastic bowl or bag for up to 24 hours. Let come to room temperature before dividing and rolling crusts.

Servings: 4